


In My Coils

by STARSdidathing



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Asgardian Tony Stark, BAMF Loki (Marvel), Courting Rituals, Eventual Fluff, Hopeful Ending, I Don't Even Know, Inspired by Art, Kidnapped Tony Stark, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, M/M, Naga, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 06:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20077504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/pseuds/STARSdidathing
Summary: Anthony hadn’t expected to die in a naga's den.





	In My Coils

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SalamanderInk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalamanderInk/gifts).

> So, the incredibly talented **SalamanderInk** did some art for the FrostIron Bang that the Discord hosted and shared it. I loved it and got so many ideas I asked if I could write something for it to. Sal (and her partner for the bang Sparcina) said yes. And this is what became of it.
> 
> Their collaboration is [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18659467) And I'll be linking the art that inspired it in the text :)

Anthony hadn’t expected to die like this.

The Aesir might be idiots, but he at least had more since then to walk into a _naga nest_. 

But, this naga was different. He’d used illusion magic as an ensnaring tactic. He caught his prey by offering the image most likely to draw them in, and then used a dampening spell to make them forget why finding such an untouched treasure in the middle of a forest was impossible.

Anthony might be an Aesir, but he’d spent more time with the Elves and Dwares. He sought knowledge and improvements to his craft.

The spell had offered him a pristine pile of rare books. He realised his mistake the moment he walked through the defensive outer wards. He was not a magical being, but he had many friends who’d given him charms and amulets of protection. They started glowing and even shocked him, forcing him to _wake up_.

The illusion shimmered and he tried to dart away or reach for his sword, but before he could, a hand was on his neck and something dexterous, slim and firm was detaching the belt holding his weaponary.

He was then raised into the air and the bright clearing was replaced for a murky, dark and shadowed glade with the opening to a cave at the far end. But the environment held less of his attention then the creature holding him.

It had the face and torso of a man, before its body became long and serpentine. A _naga_. A deadly creature. Anthony could feel the creature’s tail beneath his legs, helping to hoist him up. The naga had curling horns protruding from his temples and long braided hair that was almost as long as Anthony was tall.

It had a knife in its right hand; jewels and string hanging from the hilt.

“What a curious Aesir,” the naga remarked, tilting Anthony’s head back.

Anthony was gripping the naga’s wrist, trying to pull on the hand but getting little movement. [The naga’s hand shifted from his throat to his chin, pulling his head back even further as the naga looked down at him](https://salamanderink.tumblr.com/image/184551766345).

“Do you know how many have sought _books_ from my illusion?” The creature questioned.

Anthony said nothing,

The naga brought his knife forward and Anthony tensed and would have struggled if he wasn’t held firm. The naga didn’t stab him, he used the tip of the blade to fish beneath Anthony’s armour and catch one of his many amulets, drawing it out so the naga could examine it.

“And,” the naga said thoughtfully, “how rare it is for any creature to break from my illusion once ensnared?”

Anthony still didn’t respond and the tip of the knife trailed over his neck, making him swallow. It didn’t break skin but it was a painful reminder of how close to death he rested.

Yet, the naga pulled the blade away. He then used magic to disappear it. When he smiled, it hinted at fangs.

“What a curious Aesir,” he said again and his thumb lightly stroked Anthony’s jaw. He tried not to shudder. The naga’s eyes flickered strangely in the light, sometimes poison green, other times blood red.

The naga licked his lips. “You will be my guest for dinner tonight.” He lent close, his breath brushing Anthony’s face as he said, “And if you are lucky and appease me, I might not even eat you.”

Anthony would have gaped, if the naga wasn’t letting him go, dropping him into the thick and strong coils of his _very_ large tail. The naga began slithering back into his cave with Anthony dragged along behind him.

Anthony tried to struggle, panic erupting inside him, but there was no fighting the naga. 

His last glimpse of sunlight was as it flickered through the trees, glinting off his discarded weaponry, laying at the edge of the clearing and far outside his reach.

* * *

The naga’s cave was metres deep and the creature slithered down with ease. The walls dripped and the air felt damp. Anthony continued to struggle against the powerful grip, but it was impossible to break the creature’s hold.

Anthony half expected to descend into a murky swamp surrounded by the bones of past victims from the naga’s traps. He didn’t expect the naga to take a sudden turn to the right before slithering up into a section of cave that was a little cramped but pleasantly warm. The naga could spread out easily in the cavern. There were stalactites hanging from the ceiling and trinkets were tied around and dangling from them. Anthony could see the dagger from earlier resting among them. 

The naga flicked his fingers towards the corner of the room where a circle of stones was arranged. A green flame erupted to life within it. The naga drew him close to the flames before unwinding his tail. Anthony remained perfectly still as he was left to rest sitting on the floor of the cavern.

The naga’s attention was focused on vegetables that hung from the roof. He was running his fingers over them with a pensive frown, obviously deciding which to remove.

Anthony knew it was unlikely to succeed, but when the naga’s tail cleared the entrance, Anthony made a dive for the gap and freedom. He barely got into the tunnel before the naga’s tail was catching him around the waist and yanking him back inside.

He shouted and scrabbled against the hold. He scratched and snarled and dug his feet into the rock, but the naga was too powerful and dragged him back inside like a doll. This time, he wasn’t gently placed to the ground, he was pulled until he was staring into the naga's luminescent eyes. 

“Now, now,” the naga chided. “None of that.”

Anthony beared his teeth at the naga. The creature’s hand came forward and its finger stroked under Anthony’s chin. He jerked his face away.

“Curious Aesir,” the naga remarked again. “What is your name?”

Anthony didn’t say a word. It made the naga frown, and that hint of irritation made fear instinctively bolt down Anthony’s spine. This creature had him in his coils and his cave. Anthony had no weapon and the poison from a naga was a fate no being wished to suffer.

“Your refusal to answer is not helping you appease me.”

It was not an idle threat. 

“Anthony,” he bit out.

The creature’s annoyance was replaced by a grin. It pulled Anthony near while also sidling closer. “I am Loki.”

Anthony gave a smile that was all teeth and no politeness. 

“A true _pleasure_,” he gritted out, his voice more sardonic than gracious.

Yet, the naga, _Loki_, only chuckled. The sound vibrated around the cavern. His finger also came back and stroked Anthony’s chin again. This time, Anthony stiffened but didn’t move away.

“Aesir Anthony,” he said thoughtfully.

He then turned away from Anthony, but this time, Loki didn’t release him. He went back to his vegetables with Anthony held in his coils. The naga’s back was to Anthony, and he wished he had a knife or a sharp rock so he could stab the creature in the back.

But there was nothing - at least, nothing in his _reach_.

“Why does an Aesir seek books?” The naga questioned.

It might have sounded as if he was merely talking aloud, but Anthony knew better, there was a pointed note to the question.

Anthony didn’t want to answer, he also wished to lie, but he knew better than to be caught tricking a creature as powerful as this one. He forced himself to resist the urge to rip at the naga’s scales and try to escape. He was well and truly captured. He had no choice but to appease the naga.

“I seek to improve my craft.”

“And what is your craft?”

“Metallurgy.”

“Ah. A weapons maker.”

“I make _armour_,” Anthony growled. It made Loki turn to him. The naga tilted his head and observed the armour covering Anthony with increased curiosity.

He gave a hum before turning back to the vegetables and pulling down some carrots and onions. He then went to a basket Anthony hadn’t seen and pulled out potatoes. The naga slithered to a carved-out portion of the rock, picking up a knife on his way. Loki placed down the vegetables and began to chop them.

“If you seek only _armour_, why was your illusion filled with far more than just books on metal melding?”

Anthony scowled unhappily. He didn’t answer immediately, but when the tail around him began to tighten he bit out, “All knowledge is interesting. Rare and lost books rediscovered? There is no greater find.”

The naga turned to Anthony at that, he looked intrigued. His lips also pulled in an unnerving smile. “And I had thought your kind had forgotten the power of a good book.”

Anthony didn’t know whether to be complimented or discomforted. He was grateful when the intense gaze of the naga shifted back to the vegetables he was chopping. He did briefly wave his hand, and from one moment to the next, a book was appearing in a flash of green light to land on the cavern floor beside Anthony.

“What do you make of _that_, little Aesir?”

Anthony chose not to comment on the insult to his stature in favour of straining to reach the leather-bound book. He pulled it close, resting it against the naga’s scales. There was no description on the outside, but when he opened it, Anthony gasped.

It was one of the nine lost books explaining Yggdrasil, only two were known to remain; one in Odin’s treasure vault, and another in the royal library of Alfheim. _How_ did this naga come to possess one?

Yet, that question was secondary to the awe Anthony felt at not only touching but _reading_ such a covetous text. Only the most powerful mages on Alfheim were allowed to open it, and no one save Odin was said to have touched the one in his treasure vault.

Anthony turned the page with trembling fingers. He started to read the introduction, already feeling the power of the world tree in every word, but before he had read halfway down the page the book shimmered in his hands and disappeared.

Anthony made a sound of protest. “No! I was reading, hey!”

He turned to glare at Loki only to be reminded of who and _what_ he was arguing with. Yet, the naga only looked entertained. “So you _do_ know what you just held?”

“How did you come by that?”

“Ah, ah!” Loki chastised. “I still do not know you, little Aesir.”

“I’m a metalsmith from Asgard and I like to read,” Anthony rebutted, squirming in the naga’s hold. “What else do you need to know?”

“Do you like bilgesnipe?”

"Bilgesnipe?" Anthony frowned. “Why?”

“They are large and noisy and are a filling meal.” 

He waved his hand and suddenly the fire roared and the smell of cooking meat permeated the cavern. Two large, and perfectly filleted pieces of meat were resting over a metal grate above the fire. Loki grabbed a metal pot and placed the vegetables inside with a splash that proved he had somehow filled it with water. He hung it on the metal grate before pulling his tail closer to himself and with it, Anthony as well.

They ended up far closer than Anthony wanted to be with the naga’s human half looming over him. He grinned down at Anthony, making himself comfortable in a strange half-sitting position.

“I have not had a guest in a rather long time,” Loki explained, a strange smile curling his lips. “This shall be entertaining.”

Anthony didn’t agree. He was certain it would be disconcerting, terrifying and was more than likely shaping up to be his last meal.

Why had he ever decided to take the shortcut through the forest?

* * *

Much to his surprise dining with Loki was… not as horrific as he thought it would be.

Oh, it was still uncomfortable, but the naga ate not unlike a human (although, he did try to focus on his own meal rather than what the creature looked like eating.). Anthony ate on a rock plate resting on top of the naga’s scales.

He wasn’t trusted enough to be released, apparently.

They spoke about books and magic. It wasn’t hard to find common ground as Anthony used sigils in his armour crafting and had numerous mage friends from the Elven realms. 

Sometimes, he could almost forget he was trapped in a naga’s cavern. 

If he wasn’t encircled by scales. 

Or looking at the way Loki’s humanhalf blended into his tail. 

Or seeing a glint of fangs or a colour-changing eye.

Anthony was grateful when they finished eating and he was able to hand over his rock plate and cutlery to the naga. Bilgesnipe was surprisingly tender and enjoyable, but Anthony wouldn’t have cared if it tasted like month old Einherjar boot as long as he lived to tell the tale.

When the food and plates were cleared with a wave of magic and Loki’s tail had loosened a little, Anthony felt torn between hope and fear.

Dinner was over, did that mean he was free? Or did it merely mean he was fattened up and ready to become Loki’s main course?

He would have shifted uncomfortably if there was much room in Loki’s tail, as it was, he settled for getting this over with.

“Dinner is complete. Will you release me?”

Loki gave a tsking sound that made Anthony’s heart fall. “Nonsense, Anthony. What kind of host would I be if you did not stay the night?” His eyes glinted with amusement. “The forest is a dangerous place.”

Anthony gaped. He also began struggling anew. It got him nowhere, but he refused to lie passive any longer. “Return me my weapons, I will not be so defenceless! I will sleep in a tree or under a log! I will-”

“Become the pretty prey of some new beast,” Loki stated flatly and pulled him close. “You will stay until morning.”

His word was final, there was no room for argument. Yet, Anthony _wished_ to argue. He did not go down without a fight. He was stubborn and refused to be beaten – but, in such a situation as this, how could he fight? His limbs were already aching from his constant attempts to break the naga’s hold. He had eaten and quenched his thirst, but how much luck would he truly have navigating a magical forest he did not know in the dead of night?

He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t. (He was also intelligent enough to realise escape was laughable at this point. He was well and truly caught for as long as Loki wished to hold onto him.)

His resignation must have been obvious as Loki’s hold laxed once again and he resettled himself in a comfortable position that found them almost at the same height and far, far too close.

“We shall speak until you sleep.”

Anthony doubted he would get _any_ sleep tonight, but he had no ability to refuse. “Fine.”

He tried to make himself relax rather than think about Loki’s fangs that could bite and poison him, or the coils that were strong and large enough to crush and strangle him.

* * *

Anthony did not sleep more than three hours throughout the night. He kept waking with fear racing down his spine after imagining his death at the hands of the naga. But, Loki never did anything to him. The creature slept soundly and peacefully beside him. Anthony would have (and in fact, _did_) attempt escape, but the naga was holding him too firmly.

He wasn’t going anywhere until the naga said so.

Time passed slowly, and with no way to gauge the time and with only the faint flickering fire for light, Anthony could only stare at the ceiling, the fire or the naga who held him captive.

Loki was… strange, to say the least. He wasn’t stupid nor interested only in death, dismemberment and bloodshed. He liked books, he enjoyed a conversation and he was an incredibly talented magic user.

Anthony didn’t know what to make of him. He just hoped the naga’s strange ways would end in his release and his survival of the encounter.

When morning arrived, it wasn’t marked by the rising sun or the sound of birds chirping, it was by Loki twitching and shifting. His tail moved with him loosening and then tightening its hold before his eyes opened, glowing for a moment in the dark before the fire grew and bathed the room in light.

Anthony was watching the naga carefully, worried that after a night of rest, Loki might have changed his mind.

But, the naga smiled and stretched his arms behind his head before lifting himself forward with the power of his abdomen. It took half a second for the naga to go from lying on his back to being inches from Anthony’s face. He jerked back, but the naga’s hand caught his chin. A single long finger stroked under his eye and Loki looked almost disappointed. “You did not sleep.”

“I was distracted,” Anthony muttered, wishing he had enough leverage to scurry away.

Loki pouted and tapped below his eye gently. “This is why you should not sleep in forests. Anything might have eaten you.”

“Are _you_ going to eat me?” Anthony asked, unable to curb the question or his need to know.

Loki smiled faintly and his fingers stroked Anthony’s face. It was half a caress and half a curious exploration. “Oh no. I won’t be eating you.” The first tendrils of relief began to wrap around Anthony, but the naga destroyed most of them. “But, releasing you is another matter.”

“You said you would,” Anthony argued.

“I can agree to a compromise,” Loki suggested. “I will release you, but in return, you must visit me, once a month and stay for a meal and a night’s rest.”

“You want me to do _what?_” Anthony demanded, stunned.

“I would enjoy companionship. Yours, most particularly.” He then smiled, his teeth razor sharp and revealing the danger and threat that lurked beneath his polite and reasonable façade. “If you refuse, I will simply keep you here. What would you prefer, my little Aesir?”

Internally, Anthony was cursing up a storm, but outwardly, all he did was grit his teeth.

He was between an axe and a sword; stay until the naga either grew bored and ate him, or leave but be magically bound to return once a month - because Anthony knew this would not be some handshake with only honour as a means of binding him. Loki was a magical creature and a mage in his own right. This deal would not be something he could break.

He was stuck, and he hated it.

But, at least he would live.

“If I agree to this deal,” Anthony began, immediately laying down his terms, “you will not eat me, kill me, or do anything to harm me directly or indirectly.”

Loki gave an incline of his head in agreement. He also used a small spark of magic to allow a necklace to appear in his hand. The cord was a finely woven black thread and what looked like snake-skin (but Anthony didn’t want to think about that). He held it out to Anthony. “You will wear this. It will keep all creatures in this forest from touching you while you visit me.”

Anthony knew this was a bad idea. He knew it deep down in his bones.

But, he also didn’t want to die trapped in a cave with a naga. If he was free, perhaps there was a way to break the binding (or kill the naga). It was his only chance.

“I accept,” he agreed and took the necklace from Loki.

He felt a jolt of magic; the creation of the bond. Loki grinned with delight and smugness and it only deepened Anthony’s feeling of unease, but it was too late to turn back now. He placed the necklace over his head, and the moment he did, Loki unleashed his coils and let Anthony go.

“I will see you in a month, Anthony.”

It was all the incentive Anthony needed and he turned and rushed out of the cave. He almost tripped over his feet, still expecting the naga to slither out after him and pin him to the ground before poisoning him with a single bite.

But, Loki didn’t follow, and he burst out of the cave with a leap, yet he didn’t stop even when his feet touched the clearing. He picked up his belt of weaponry the moment he was able and wrapped it around his waist. The moment his weapons were returned he finally, _finally_ felt like he could breathe.

He glanced back at the cave, but there wasn’t a hint of scales or luminescent eyes, and Anthony didn’t wait for them to appear. He rushed through the forest and back to the path that would lead him in the direction of the village where he’d last spent the night.

He had research to do and a magical binding to break.

* * *

Unfortunately, severing the binding was easier said than done.

He consulted with a dozen mages, including his friends, but they all stared at him and his necklace (which he couldn’t remove, no matter what he tried) with horror and fear.

Loki, apparently, was not only a ridiculously old naga but he was so powerful that no one wanted to touch or help Anthony in fear of Loki’s wrath. A few of his friends did dare to get close and look at the binding, but they said it was so complex and would take decades for them to unravel.

Anthony was stuck visiting Loki, there was no two ways about it.

Yet, even though he’d had numerous people tell him Loki was powerful, he didn’t exactly _believe_ it, not until he was returning to the forest for his first one-month visit. He was travelling down a road when a group of trolls ambushed him. They would have spelled his death only… they took one step towards him and Anthony’s necklace flared green in warning. The trolls froze before scurrying backwards, they cleared a path in the road and bowed their heads in respect.

Anthony had cautiously walked between the trolls, feeling tense and wary of a trap, but none of them made a single move against him. Loki had promised he would be untouchable, and he hadn’t lied. 

Anthony didn’t know what to make of that, but it made him even more wary as he entered the naga’s clearing an hour later. Loki was laying on his back, soaking up the late afternoon sunlight. The branches looked as if they had simply been brushed back to allow him to see the sky. A theory that was only proven when the naga’s eyes opened and he looked at Anthony. The branches folded back into place without a word from Loki, and the clearing was shadowed once again.

“You arrived on time.” He smirked. “I do appreciate punctuality.”

“I uphold my commitments,” Anthony answered.

“Mm. Excellent.” The naga stretched and shifted into an upright position. Anthony half expected him to dart forward and pull Anthony back into his coils, but he didn’t.

Anthony stood awkwardly, not sure what to do and the entire time, the naga watched him. His piercing eyes taking in Anthony’s outfit, looking for subtle differences and cataloguing his features and the fall of his hair.

It was discomforting, and Anthony couldn’t stand it.

“Now what?” He demanded.

Loki smiled and he made a sweeping gesture with his arm towards the cave. Anthony clenched his jaw, but he knew he had no choice. He also knew that the naga _shouldn’t_ be able to hurt him - if he kept to his word.

Pulling in a breath, Anthony stepped into the clearing and towards the cave, hearing Loki begin to slither in behind him. Anthony didn’t like having the naga at his back, but he refused to show his fear. He stiffened his spine and stepped into the lair of the creature.

Anthony hoped, once again, that he would make it out alive.

* * *

Dining with Loki was much the same as last time only he wasn’t in Loki’s coils this time.

Loki cooked, they talked, they ate a meal, Anthony got to read a few more pages of the rare book before it disappeared, and when the meal was over, Loki’s tail snuck around Anthony and held him close through the night.

This time, Anthony even managed to sleep for half of it.

When he left in the morning, Loki followed him out to the clearing. He smiled eerily and told him, “I will see you in one month, Anthony.”

Anthony felt the naga’s eyes on his back as he stepped back into the forest.

After that, visiting Loki became kind of… routine. Anthony didn’t forget that Loki was a deadly naga or a powerful mage, but Loki never harmed or threatened him. They spoke about books and (as the months passed) Anthony’s projects and what it was like being a naga.

Anthony actually started to relax, and the moment he did that, Loki started giving him things.

A blood-splattered book on metallurgy (Anthony didn’t ask who had died for it or how), another protection charm--this one in the form of a bracelet. He even gifted Anthony with a beautiful red cape to hang from the pauldrons on Anthony’s armour. It was blood red and the edging stitched with runes of protection and stealth.

For the longest time, Anthony thought he was the naga’s Asgardian pet. He likely would have continued with that assumption for quite a while longer if he hadn’t arrived a day late nine months into their arrangement. 

He was tired and weary and had experienced a draining and busy month of commissions. 

Loki was waiting at the very edge of the clearing, looking agitated and intimidating, yet the moment Anthony stepped from between the trees with a tired slump to his shoulders, Loki’s features shifted from anger to concern.

“Anthony,” the naga murmured, and before Anthony could say a word, arms were picking him up and he was held against a chest and carried into the cavern.

“I can walk,” he muttered, but he was already relaxing into Loki’s hold.

“You have walked enough,” Loki told him.

Anthony didn’t bother to complain, he merely closed his eyes, feeling lulled by the rhythm of Loki’s movements as he slid them deep into the cavern.

Anthony didn’t realise he’d dozed off, not until he was being laid down on top of Loki’s tail and feeling it’s now comforting weight wrap around him. His head was pillowed on the bridge between human and snake skin. He felt Loki’s fingers starting to card through his hair.

“M’sorry, m’late,” he mumbled, barely opening his eyes. He just felt so _comfortable_. He knew that right here, in Loki’s cavern, he had nothing to worry or fear.

(And wasn’t that a change from nine months ago? Yet, he knew deep in his bones that this naga would never harm him.)

“Shh,” Loki hummed, followed by a soft kiss being brushed to his forehead. “You are forgiven.”

Anthony started to smile, feeling pleased, when the touch registered. He snapped open his eyes and stared up at the naga’s face. He was looking down at Anthony with pure affection that was only slightly dampened by concern.

_Oh, by the Norns._

“Are you courting me?” Anthony asked, his voice little more than a squeak.

Loki chuckled, and for a moment, Anthony felt relieved

“I do not ‘court’," Loki said. "I have already claimed you.” His tail curled tighter around Anthony. “It is you who are slow.”

Anthony stared up at Loki with wide eyes and no idea what to say. His heart was racing and for the first time in several months he wanted to leap away from Loki and run as far away as he could.

Yet, he didn’t, because Loki was stroking his temples, and watching him with amusement. Loki bent down again and kissed his forehead once more, and Anthony… Anthony didn’t know whether the jolt to his stomach was discomfort or enjoyment.

“Take your time, my little Aesir,” Loki whispered. “I do not mind waiting.”

Anthony was conflicted and his body tense. He was being courted - no, he was _claimed_ by Loki and he had absolutely no idea what to do with that.

He felt torn between laughing until he sobbed or panicking until he hyperventilated. (And another, smaller part of him just wanted to turn around and bury his face against Loki, and let the naga’s hands run through his hair and down his back until he calmed down.)

_Why, oh why_, he asked himself again, _did you have to take that shortcut through the forest?_

And although he knew it probably wasn’t the wisest idea out of the three options. Anthony found himself shifting and rolling until he could bury his face in Loki’s stomach. It didn’t really help when it came to blocking out the world (and the realisation of Loki’s intentions), but Loki’s hands did come down to stroke his neck, back and hair in comfort.

Of all the things he expected when he was first captured, Anthony could say with complete honesty: he’d never expected _this._

* * *

**BONUS SEQUEL I WAS TALKED INTO AND DON'T SEE THE POINT OF MAKING A SECOND CHAPTER FOR:**

* * *

Anthony never intended to accept the naga’s courtship.

He might have grown comfortable in the creature’s presence, he might have grown to _enjoy_ his visits to the naga’s cave, but he was still an Aesir with no plans to bind himself to a half-snake.

Yet, Loki had made his intentions known and he wasn’t shy about showing it. He liked to touch Anthony, above and beyond what was normal before he had declared himself.

He petted Anthony’s hair every night and stroked his arms and back. Anthony often jerked or shied away, especially if he wasn’t expecting it. The first few months, Loki just looked amused by his skittishness. He always retreated, but the touches inevitably returned on Anthony’s next visit. 

But as another six months passed, Loki’s touches began to falter. It was small at first, a hesitation before Loki’s hand touched his hair. A pause before Loki decided not to touch his arm. He still wrapped Anthony in his coils to sleep. He still demanded he return every month, but Loki started to look pained and sad.

Anthony should have felt overjoyed that the touches were stopping, that perhaps, it was leading towards Loki finally and truly letting him go – but, Anthony _didn’t_. It hurt when Loki pulled back and tried to smile. It ached when the usually confident naga started to hesitate.

Most of all, he hated it when those colour-changing eyes started to look miserable and resigned. 

He had known the naga for eighteen months, it had been _nine_ months since he announced his claim, and when Anthony stepped into the clearing, Loki didn’t touch him. He still smiled, looking happy and relieved to see him, but he didn’t immediately move to pet Anthony or brush some part of their bodies together.

Nagas courted through touch, he’d learnt. It was extremely important, and every time Anthony had flinched, it had been refusal after refusal. 

Even someone as confident and powerful as Loki could be worn down over time.

Anthony had never _intended_ to encourage Loki, but seeing the naga so depressed and defeated, Anthony had reached out and touched Loki’s arm.

Loki had frozen and jerked to look at Anthony, his eyes wide. Anthony had given a hesitant smile, and from one second to the next, Loki’s entire expression had brightened.

He also slid forward and curled his tail around Anthony’s waist while his hands slid through Anthony’s hair and his chest pressed to Anthony’s back. It was a bombardment of affection and Anthony was torn between uncertainty and enjoyment. 

Anthony had to turn to look over his shoulder. Loki’s face was hovering inches from his; his horns decorated with jewels and his hair long and dark as the night’s sky.

“I can touch you?” Loki asked, seeking confirmation despite it already being obvious.

Anthony licked his lips and swallowed. He still had no idea what he was doing. “Y-Yeah.”

Loki smile revealed his sharp teeth before, a moment later, arms were around his waist and he was being lifted into the air.

“Loki! Norns, damn you! I can walk!”

“But, I do not want you to,” Loki declared, continuing to hold him tight to the naga’s chest as he slithered into the cave. 

“Loki-”

“I want to touch you,” Loki said, nuzzling his face against Anthony’s hair. “I will not see you for weeks. I want to hold you.”

Loki sounded simple and matter-of-fact, but beneath that, Anthony could hear the longing and the sadness. Loki had spent such a long time alone, and a single night with Anthony would hardly satisfy his yearning.

Anthony bit his lip, but the ache in his chest was reappearing, and before he could think it through, he mumbled, “Maybe I could stay longer.”

Loki froze once again, he barely seemed to be breathing. “How long?”

“A couple of days?”

Loki let out a noise that wasn’t quite a rumble but nor was it a hiss, he tightened his hold on Anthony and whispered, “Yesssss.”

The ‘s’ was dragged in a very serpentine and _possessive_ manner, but Anthony couldn’t bring himself to regret it, not when Loki looked down at him with such unbridled joy.

Anthony still hadn’t intended to _accept_ Loki’s courtship or claim, mind you. He was still adamant on that fact, even when he started to curl into Loki’s touches as the months passed.

Sometimes, he even woke up laying across Loki’s scales as the mage stroked his skin. Once, he was even running a red feather over Anthony’s skin, in a gesture full of protection magic and affection. It then became a necklace that he slipped around Anthony’s neck to join the other one.

Several more months came and went. Anthony started spending three, sometimes four days a month with Loki. The naga always pulled him into a hug before he left, nuzzling his hair and refusing to let him go for the longest time.

Anthony began to find it hard to leave as well. He began to _miss_ Loki when he was alone in his forge with no one to sooth him to sleep. 

He felt confused and distressed and he got blackout drunk more than once, but it didn’t stop his growing feelings. He was falling for a naga, a _half-snake_, and nothing he did could change it.

Love, after all, was so much harder to ignore.

He wore all of Loki’s charms and gifts, but the feather he continually touched. It reminded him of the pleasant feeling of being safe in Loki’s cave with the naga stroking his skin and sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

He wanted it again. He wanted _Loki_, and once sure of a course of action, Anthony had never been one to stand back or hesitate. 

It didn’t make him any less nervous as he arrived in Loki’s clearing a week earlier than normal. 

Loki was there and waiting. His eyes darted over Anthony, filled with concern. He slithered closer. “Anthony? Are you hurt?”

“Loki,” Anthony whispered, and even though he’d planned for this, even though he knew what he was doing, he still felt nervous. “I’m… well. Can you, um…?” 

He gestured for the naga to lean down. Loki frowned but instantly complied, lowering himself to be level with Anthony. His worry had never faded, and he was still searching Anthony’s face, trying to read what was wrong.

Anthony hesitated for only a moment before cupping Loki’s cheeks. He saw the mage’s eyes widen before he closed his own and leant the remaining distance forward to capture Loki’s lips in a kiss.

Loki didn’t move for the longest time. Anthony almost began to regret it, before arms were suddenly around his waist and he was lifted up into the air. Anthony let out a small sound of surprise and pulled back, his eyes opening as he found Loki stretching to his full height. Anthony was held in the air by nothing but the arms around his waist.

“L-Loki!”

“Beloved,” Loki whispered, his lips trailing over Anthony’s neck, jaw, cheek and finally to his lips. “My sweet, sweet Anthony.”

Anthony opened his mouth, not sure what he planned to say, but his mouth was caught in another kiss before he could speak a word. Anthony’s eyes fell closed as Loki deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around the naga’s neck and threaded his fingers through Loki’s hair.

He still wasn’t ready for everything this courtship entailed, but for now, he was willing to accept Loki’s kiss and a longer time living in the naga’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you missed it the amazing artwork Sal drew, it can be found on their tumblr [here](https://salamanderink.tumblr.com/post/184551766345/heres-my-art-for-our-second-entry-for-the). Go give them some love!
> 
> And as for the note in the story. I planned to end it there, but then Sal pleaded with me to write them kissing/Tony accepting the courtship so I eventually gave in. I hope you liked it!


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